Living Up To The Name
by AuthorandArtist1025
Summary: Life’s going great for the Gilmore’s. Until a surprise phone call sends them reeling off the track. Rory’s cousin is coming to visit. Or stay? How will the Gilmore Girls tell the town? More importantly, will they be able to handle having a twelve year old


Summery: Life's going great for the Gilmore's. Until a surprise phone call sends them reeling off the track. Rory's cousin is coming to visit. Or stay? How will the Gilmore Girls tell the town? More importantly, will they be able to handle having a twelve year old girl living with them?

Background Info: This story takes place after the episode 2.09, Run Away Little Boy and before episode 2.10 The Bracebridge Dinner.

Reviews are welcome, I enjoy constructive criticism. Don't be too harsh, though! Enjoy!

Episode 1: Family Ties

_It was Tuesday, November 6, 2001. Lorelai and Rory Gilmore were sitting in Luke's diner eating pancakes and drinking bucket loads of coffee. Luke Danes, the owner of the diner, came over to their table holding a coffee pot._

"More coffee?"

"Yay, for Super-Luke!" Lorelai replied.

"Don't call me that." Luke insisted.

"More for me too, please." Rory said. Luke poured them both more coffee, then went back to the counter.

Lorelai sipped her coffee. "So kid, how are things? School's good? Gotten into any fights lately?" Lorelai asked, smiling sweetly.

"NO, and not hoping to. Yeah, school's good, I aced the test in math yesterday." Rory thought for a moment. "Oh, I almost forgot. Ali emailed me last night."

Lorelai smiled, surprised. "Really? You mean Ali as in your cousin Alison?"

Rory nodded. "Yeah, my cousin Alison. Do we know any other Ali's?"

"Ali Landry, of course! Those episodes of Felicity she was in were great."

Rory snapped her fingers. "Mom, concentrate!"

"Sorry. Continue."

"Ali said that she misses us and that it would be great if we called her A.S.A.P. She also said to take her time, because it isn't urgent."

"What 12-year-old uses the word urgent?" Lorelai asked.

"Ummm… maybe one, whose parents went to Ivy League colleges, has an extensive vocabulary and is therefore doing amazing in school." Rory said obviously.

"Well, yeah, there's that." Lorelai said, defeated.

"Mom, I'm gonna miss my bus if I don't get out of here. We'll call Ali tonight, ok?" Rory said, gathering her things.

"Sure hon, have a great day. Make a Chilton kid cry for me. Preferably Paris!"

"Will do. Bye, Mom!" Rory yelled from the door. Lorelai watched her walk to the bus stop, then turned toward the counter.

"Oh Luuuu-uuke!" Lorelai sang, slightly off pitch. Luke walked over to the table to pour her third cup of coffee of the hour.

"You disgust me." He said. She smiled and sipped her coffee.

_Rory is sitting at her desk listening to the Bangles as Lorelai walks in the front door. _

"Daughter of mine!" She yelled.

"My room!" Rory announced.

Lorelai set down her coat and keys and made her way into her daughter's room. "Soooooooo, I've been debating it all day. Pizza and then Luke's for pie or burgers and pie from Luke's?" Rory turned around to face her mother.

"You thought about that all day? Don't you have a business to run?"

"Opinion, please."

"We're going to go to Luke's anyway for pie. I say eat there."

"Yeah, but I really want pizza." Lorelai whined.

Rory sighed. "So, order pizza."

"But I didn't have time to go to Luke's this morning and he'll be pissed if I don't go for dinner."

Rory looked concerned. "You didn't get any coffee today? How did you survive?"

"I got coffee at the inn. Now back to the subject. Luke's or pizza?"

"I already told you, Luke's." Rory replied, officially annoyed.

"But I really want pizza!" Lorelai insisted.

"Why do you ask for my opinion if you already know what you want?"

"'Cause, I really like to annoy you?"

"Mom, I'm studying. Can you annoy someone else for a while?"

"You're crabby. Bad day?"

"Sadly, you are the cause of my crabbiness. Studying now. Bye."

Lorelai put her hand over her chest. "You have hurt me in the heart." Changing the tone of her voice, she said, "Pizza in an hour?"

"'Kay."

_One hour later, Lorelai and Rory are both sitting in the living room, watching movies and eating pizza._

"Is it just me, or is this the greatest pizza we've ever had?" Rory asked, taking another slice.

"Nd nih cnm mdjh dmkl ndnnd dker vfdgq djfnnuy likoygm Viljy Tiknka hnd gha Kasdferlt Viktljy." Lorelai said with her mouth full of pizza.

Rory stared at her, completely lost. "What?"

Lorelai swallowed. "It seems so much better since we're watching Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory."

Rory smiled. "For the 47th time." She added.

"Well, it is number 10 on our favorite movie list." Lorelai stated, as if it were obvious.

Rory looked surprised. "We have a favorite movie list?"

"Of course! What is life without a favorite movie list?"

Rory looked horrified for a moment. "I suppose it's like… a life without coffee."

Lorelai gasped and dropped her pizza. "Oh, my god, you just gave me nightmares for the next month!"

"Sorry." Rory said, grimacing. "Hey mom, what time is it?"

Lorelai looked at her watch. "7:30. Why?"

"I want to call Ali. Can you stop the movie?"

"Absolutely not! It's against our movie night policies."

"Family is more important than Gene Wilder."

"No, it's not!" Lorelai stated. Rory gawked at her mother, obviously against the statement that had just left her mouth. "Ok, ok."

Rory picked up the phone and walked into the kitchen. She sat down and dialed Ali's number. It rang three times before someone picked up.

"_Hello?" _

"Al? It's Rory."

"_Oh, hi, Rory! How's it going?"_

"Good. How about you?"

"_Great!" _

"Sooooo…"

"_I have something to tell you."_

"Oh, god, what did you do and how much is it going to cost?"

Ali laughed. _"Oh, come on."_

Rory snickered. "Ok, fine, what happened? And seriously, how much is it going to cost?"

"_You're cruel."_

Rory smiled. "Ok, completely serious now."

"_It kinda concerns your mom too. Do you want me to tell you and you can tell Lorelai later, or do you want to put me on speaker phone?" _

"I'll get her." Rory walked into the living room to find Lorelai inspecting the pizza. "Mom?"

"Hold on, sweets. Ah-ha! I was right! Pete did put tiny pieces of broccoli under the cheese! "

Rory smiled. "Maybe he's concerned about our vegetable intake."

Lorelai shook her off quickly. "Yes, well. He is soooooooo not getting a tip next time."

"Maybe the broccoli's what made the pizza taste so good."

Lorelai smirked. "Like I'm ever going to admit that. Does Ali have something to tell us?" Rory nodded. "Oh no. What did she do and how much is it going to cost?"

"Now, now, be nice." Rory scolded. "I'm putting her on speaker. Al? You there?"

"_Present."_

"Why, hello, my favorite niece!"

"_Hi, Lorelai! How are you?"_

"Good. I'm good. Great, in fact. Incredible." Lorelai laughed. "Ha ha, that's funny. Y'know, because I work at an inn…?" No one spoke. "Okay then, let's cut the chit-chat and get down to business. What's the big news?"

"_My mom got a visiting professorship at Berkeley in astrophysics for a year. My dad got a job at the UCSF medical school."_

"And…?" Rory said.

"_I need a place to stay while I'm in school."_

"So, you're not going with them?" Lorelai asked.

"_Nope."_

"Why not?" Rory asked, curious.

"_I saw this as an opportunity to go to a school with better English, history and math programs than my school. At first my parents wanted me to go with them, but I'm gonna visit during the summers. They're going to come back for my birthday, of course." _

"Which school did you choose?"_"_

"_Stars Hollow Middle." _

"You're kidding." Rory said, amazed.

"_No, I'm not. Is this bad?" _

"Honey, no, it's great!" Lorelai exclaimed. "So, you're staying with us?"

"_Only if it's okay with you." _

"For how long?"

"_I have to finish 7__th__ grade, and then I have to go through 8__th__ grade. My parents will be back by then, but I want to finish middle school in Stars Hollow. I know, it's a really long time." _

"Hey, the longer the better!" Lorelai said.

"Yeah!" Rory concurred. "We almost never see you, living nearly 3 hours away from each other. It will be great to have you here!"

"_Really? You're serious?"_

"Totally!" Rory replied. "When are you coming?"

"_The 1__st__ quarter ends in a couple weeks. I think on the 30__th__. Is Saturday the 1__st__ good? Around ten or eleven?" _

"Let me check." Lorelai pulled out her calendar. "It's perfect. We'll see you then?"

"_I'll call next week. Oh, and Lorelai?" _

"Yeah?"

"_I'm your only niece." _

"That explains why you're my favorite."

Ali laughed. _"I'll talk to you guys next Monday! Bye Lorelai! Bye Rory! Love you!"_

"Right back at 'cha kid." Lorelai said, hanging up the phone.

Rory glanced over at her mom. "So… Ali's coming to stay with us?"

"Ali's coming to stay with us." Lorelai repeated, recovering from the shock. "More broccoli pizza?"

"Sure."

_The next day, Dean is sitting on a bench reading a book as a bus pulls up. Rory steps out and sits down next to Dean._

"Hey." He said, leaning over to kiss her.

"Hey." She echoed. "What'cha reading?" He showed her the cover of the book. "Ah, The Kite Runner. Can you pronounce the authors name correctly?"

"Khaled Hosseini." He said flawlessly.

"Impressive."

"Why must you doubt my mental capabilities?" He asked.

"Oh, I'm just teasing you." She replied happily. "Good book choice, by the way."

He raised an eyebrow. "Y'know, you were the one who recommended it to me."

"Very true." She kissed him lightly on the lips. "Hi." she said.

"Hi." he repeated.

Rory laughed. "Didn't we go through this already?"

Dean pretended to look confused. "It's all coming back to me now! Major déjà vu." He smiled.

"Hey, I've got big news." Rory said, suddenly serious.

"Do tell."

"My cousin is coming to stay with us." Rory said, looking for approval.

"Really? How old is she?"

"Twelve."

"How long is she visiting for?"

"Her parents are going to California to teach at Berkeley for the rest of the year. She's going to finish 7th grade and then 8th." Rory explained.

"Ah, the good old middle school days." Dean said, smiling.

"I think this is a good thing, y'know? We rarely get to see her or her family. She lives in New York and the last time I saw her was my fourteenth birthday."

Dean laughed. "You talk way too much."

Rory smiled, and then tried to look official. "Yes, well, I am a Gilmore. It's in my blood. Hey Dean, I have to go meet Lane. I haven't told her the news yet."

"Okay. I'll see you tonight?"

"Yeah. See you then. Kiss." Dean leaned down and kissed her.

"Bye." She stood up and walked across the town square. She walked through the gate and knocked on the door of Kim's Antiques, also known as the Kim household. Lane answered it.

"Rory! Hi! Come on in." They carefully maneuvered their way around the hundreds of tables and chairs to the kitchen table, where they sat down. Lane looked Rory in the eye.

"So, what's up?"

"You'll never guess what happened."

Lane's eyes widened. "Oh, my god, you're pregnant?!?"

Rory's jaw dropped, surprised at the question. "Yes, Lane, I'm pregnant." She said, obviously kidding.

"Sorry, stupid question. Your mom's pregnant?"

Rory grimaced. "No! Not that I know of. Oh, god, I hope not." Mrs. Kim walked into the room looking angry.

"Who is pregnant?! Rory, your mother is pregnant?"

Lane stood up and tried to explain. "No, mama, I was kidding. I'm very sorry, it was a misunderstanding."

Mrs. Kim squinted at Lane closely. "There will be double bible class tomorrow, Lane. Continue your conversation."

"Thank you, mama." Lane sat down and pointed at Rory. "That's another 2 and a half hour's of praying, your fault." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm.

"Is not!" Rory replied, going along with the joke. "You started the pregnancy thing."

"Fine, I give. Tell me the news, I'm dying here!"

"My cousin is coming to visit."

"You're talking about Ali, right?"

"Yeah. Her parents got jobs in California for a year and she didn't want to go with them. She's coming to stay with us to finish 7th and 8th grade. Apparently Stars Hollow Middle's math, history and advanced placement English programs are better than her old schools were. She wanted a new start at a school where she could get a better education, so she's staying with us."

"That's a really long time, Rory. As in 2 years."

"She's going to visit her parents during the summer in California."

"Still, do you think you and Lorelai are up for that?"

"Lane, she's my twelve year old cousin. We have an obligation to take care of her. I know what it's like to be a twelve year old kid, and my mom knows how to take care of one. It'll be fine." Rory said, not to convincingly.

Lane nodded. "Yeah, sure. We all trust you. So, when's she coming?"

"In a little less than a month."

"I can't wait to meet her." Lane squealed.

"You've met her before. At my fourteenth birthday party, remember?" Rory said, smiling.

"Oh, yeah. That was a really small party. Just me, you, Lorelai, Sookie, Babette, Patty, Ali and your aunt, right?"

"I think Luke showed up at one point to. I suspect that my mom paid him to come, but he did none the less."

"Then I can't wait to re-meet her. The town will love her."

Rory nodded. "Yeah, they will."

_Rory is sitting in Luke's drinking coffee as Lorelai walks in the door and sits down next to her._

"Hey! What took you so long?" Rory asked, swallowing the last of her coffee.

"I couldn't decide what to wear. My brain isn't working, today. However, after a couple cups of coffee and an argument or two with Michel, I will be restored. Hey Luke! Two coffees to go!"

Luke handed Lorelai the coffee reluctantly. "Here you are. Death in a cup to go."

"Hey, hon, there's your bus." Lorelai said, ignoring Luke. "You better get going." She handed Rory one of the two coffee cups.

"I have newspaper stuff to take care of after school, so don't expect me home 'til 4."

Lorelai looked hurt. "You'd leave me here all alone to rot?"

"Luke'll keep you company, won't 'cha Luke?" Rory asked.

"Oooo, will you tell stories and do magic tricks? Will you do an amazing card trick? Will you pull a bunny out of your baseball hat?" Lorelai asked, smiling like a five year old.

"Drink your coffee." Luke said, without looking up. He lifted a hand and waved. "See yah Rory."

"Bye, Luke." Rory said, gathering her things. "Bye Mom."

"See you later, honey." Rory opened the door and walked to the bus stop. Lorelai turned back to Luke. "So, I've got big news. Want to hear it?"

"Not really, but you're going to tell me anyway, so…"

"My niece is coming to visit." Lorelai interrupted.

Luke looked surprised. Or at least faked it. "Really?"

Lorelai looked confused as she nodded. "Yes…"

"What, has she been doing badly in school? Are her parents sending her to you because they think you'll straighten her out?" Luke continued.

Lorelai shook her head. "No way. Ali is the complete opposite of that. She's twelve. She's a good kid."

"Well, I'm very happy for you. I hope you have fun."

"Luke, she's not just staying for a weekend. She's staying for nearly 2 years."

"Sounds a lot like the Jess situation."

"Stop it Luke. She's coming here because her parents are going to California for a year to teach at Berkeley. She's going to go to Stars Hollow Middle School."

"Really?" he asked.

"Really." Lorelai said, giving him her deadly stare.

"Ok. I really do hope you have fun."

"Thanks." Lorelai said sarcastically. "You know what would be great? If you pulled a disappearing act right now. Oh wait, that's me walking out. Bye." Luke nodded at her, not smiling. Lorelai walked out the door. Five seconds later she walked back in.

"Forgot my coffee." She said, grabbing her coffee cup and rushing outside. Luke smirked and walked into the kitchen. Lorelai maneuvered her way around town, heading toward the inn. She reached the front door, entered and set her purse down behind the front desk. She noticed that Michel wasn't there. All of a sudden she heard yelling from the kitchen. "Of course." She said to herself.

"I just don't understand why it is so hard to make me a simple waffle with exactly two pinches of cinnamon, one pinch of nutmeg, seven blueberries and twelve slices of banana!" Michel yelled at Sookie as Lorelai walked into the kitchen of the Independence Inn.

"Hey Sook, coffee?" She asked.

"On the table. Michel, I can't make you waffles if you're hovering next to me watching everything I do!"

Michel grasped his coffee mug tighter, the veins popping out of his neck. "If I don't have a certain amount of everything, I will exceed my daily calorie intake. I need an exact amount of calories in my waffles!" Lorelai laughed. Michel turned on her angrily.

"What?!?" He demanded.

"Nothing, waffles is a funny word. Please, continue." Lorelai replied calmly.

"Fine." He turned back to Sookie. "Seven blueberries; no more!" he stormed out of the kitchen, then walked back in and took a banana. A classic Sookie/Michel spat. Whatever it was over, it was always hilarious.

"I'm not making you waffles!" Sookie yelled after him.

"Drop it, Sook. It's not worth it." Lorelai said soothingly.

Sookie started to chop up some strawberries. "Yeah. So, anything new? Did you try to cook and blow up your stove again?"

"Hey, I only did that once! And I didn't blow up my stove, I set it on fire."

"Yeah, yeah. Hey, you seem excited. What's up?"

"My niece is coming to visit."

"Cool! For how long?"

"A while."

"How long is a while?"

"A long time?"

"You're being very cryptic here."

"You really want to know?"

"Yes, how long is she staying?"

"About two years."

"Wow."

"I know, I know. It's a looooong time. Jenny and Graham…"

"Who?"

"My sister and her husband."

"Ok. Keep going." Sookie said, now making whipped cream.

"Jenny and Graham are going to California on a year long professorship. Apparently Jenny is teaching astrophysics at Berkeley and Graham is teaching a class at UCSF medical school. My niece wants to go to middle school here because according to her it has better math, history, and AP English classes. "

"So, this is Ali you're talking about, right?"

"Do I have any other nieces?"

"Not that I know of."

"Then yes, it's Ali. And she's staying with us. Me and Rory have to raise a 12-year-old. Wow."

"That's Rory and I, not me and Rory. Or is it?"

"English was never my strongest subject."

"It's a complete waste of time. This is good, right? She's a good kid."

"That she is."

"It won't be that bad."

"Oh, I know it won't be. She'll be an angel. I'm just not sure how my parents will take it."

"Will they really be that upset?" Sookie asked, almost dreading the answer.

"They'll want her to go to an expensive private school. They won't approve of her going to a small school in a remote area. They're going to try to manipulate her into moving in with them. I'm worried if she can avoid that or not. That is the way the Gilmore's minds work. They are devious, scheming, and manipulative and they will do anything to get what they want."

"You left out malicious."

"Oh, good word."

"Thank you. English was my best subject."

"I have to get back to the desk before Michel kills anyone on his waffle rant. See you later, Sookie."

"Bye, Lorelai."

_Lorelai and Rory are in the car driving to Friday night dinner. They pull up in the Gilmore's driveway. Rory starts to open the door._

Lorelai reached out and grabbed her arm. "Hold on, hon."

Rory turned back to her mom. "What?"

"Have you thought about what your grandparents are going to say? Do you know how they're going to feel about Ali coming to stay with us?"

"They'll be fine about it. They're gonna be happy for us."

Lorelai looked at Rory skeptically. "You really think they're going to be cool about this? Rory, I thought you would have realized by now. Emily and Richard are not going to accept the fact that their youngest granddaughter is going to a small school in a town very little people have heard about, or that she's living with us. They don't think I'm the most suitable person to raise a kid. You turned out pretty good in their opinion."

"Actually, you're forgetting that everyone has fifty contacts, give or take. If every person in Stars Hollow tells everyone they know where they live, and then those people tell everyone they know, and so on. A lot more people know about Stars Hollow then you might think."

"Yeah, sure. Back to the subject. When we get inside, we need to wait for the right moment to spill the beans. So when I wink at you, follow my lead, ok?"

"Wink at me? You couldn't think up anything better than a wink?"

"What? Winks are good. They're subtle and they almost look like a blink, so they're rarely noticed."

"Oh, yes, we'll be like spies with our secret winking language."

"Stop it." Rory started to wink at Lorelai.

Lorelai laughed "Stop! You look like a demented cartoon character."

"Hey mom, we better go in, we've been out here for nearly 15 minutes."

"Do you think Emily noticed?" Lorelai asked looking out the window.

"Not unless she's watching the door like some insane stalker."

"I wouldn't put it past her."

"You just called your own mother a stalker."

"No. You called her a stalker. I agreed with you. Let's go." Lorelai stepped out of the car.

"I said _like_ a stalker not she _is_ a stalker! Mom! Get back here!" Rory stepped out of the car and walked to the front door where her mother was waiting.

Lorelai rang the doorbell. "Remember, stick to the plan."

Rory smiled. "The winking plan." Lorelai sighed. Emily answered the door.

"Hello, girls." She said, her voice displaying a slight tone of sadness. "Come in, come in." Lorelai and Rory handed their coats to the maid and followed Emily into the living room.

"Drinks?" Emily asked as the girls sat down.

"Soda for me, Grandma."

"Gin martini, three olives."

Emily looked at her daughter. "Why three, Lorelai? Can you not enjoy just one?"

"Why not three? It's a good number."

Rory nodded. "It's the square root of nine."

"That's gotta be good for something."

"You two are impossible."

Lorelai smiled and looked around. "Hey mom, where's dad?"

Emily looked sad. "He's making a few calls in his study." Richard had become a bit more branched out from his family since the fiasco at work. There was a long silence.

Rory broke the silence. "So, Grandma, how are you? How's life treating you?"

"I'm fine, Rory, thank you for asking. Life is treating me fine, I suppose."

The maid came into the living room and announced, "Dinner is ready."

"Thank you, Stephanie. Would you please ask Mr. Gilmore when he will be joining us?"

Stephanie nodded. "Certainly, ma'am." She walked away.

Emily gestured toward the dining room. "Shall we?"

Lorelai stood up and nodded. "We shall." The three of them walked into the dining room and sat down. Stephanie brought in the salad.

"Mr. Gilmore said he will be out in a few minutes."

Emily nodded and shooed the maid away. The three of them began to eat the salad in silence. Five minutes later, Richard walked into the room. Rory stood up and stalked over to him.

"Hi, Grandpa!" She said, hugging him.

Richard hugged his granddaughter. In a drab tone of voice, he said, "Hello, Rory. Hello, Lorelai."

"Hey, Dad."

Richard sat down as the maid set a plate in front of him and began to eat silently. Rory sat down and looked at Lorelai with a worried expression. She looked at her father for a moment and shrugged it off as Stephanie walked into the room.

"Mrs. Gilmore? There's a phone call for you."

Emily looked surprised. "Really? I wasn't expecting a call. Richard, were you expecting a call?"

"No, Emily, and if anyone was calling for me and asked for you, I would…"

"So, Mom, you should get the phone." Lorelai interjected quickly, not wanting to know what her father was going to say.

Emily became increasingly confused. "Who would call here at 8:00 at night?"

"Mom, the phone?" Lorelai said again.

"What would they be calling about?" Emily mumbled to herself, continuing to ignore Lorelai.

"I don't know, Grandma, but you should answer the phone before they hang up."

"Yes, you're right." Emily stood up and walked into the kitchen to answer the phone.

Lorelai leaned across the table and whispered, "How come she listens to you and ignores me?"

"She did not ignore you, she was pondering."

"Pondering, my a…"

"Why are you two whispering?" Richard asked.

"No reason, Grandpa." Rory said, fixing Lorelai with her 'stop it now or else' stare. Lorelai returned the gaze, and then returned to her dinner.

Emily walked into the room said, "Lorelai, may I see you in the living room for a moment, please?" She seemed aggravated.

"Sure, mom." Lorelai said. As she stood up, she whispered to Rory, "If I'm not back in five minutes, call 9-1-1."

"Sure, mom." Rory said, winking.

Lorelai followed her mother into the living room and sat down opposite her mother. "So, mom, is this going to be quick, or should I get a drink…?"

"Why wouldn't you tell us about Ali?"

"Yes, a drink would've been good." Lorelai whispered. "Mom, I…"

"Why didn't you tell us that our youngest granddaughter was coming to live with you for two years? How is it fair that I find out from your sister who needed a place to stay the night she dropped Alison off in Stars Hollow?"

"Mom…" Lorelai said warningly.

"This is big, Lorelai; huge! This does affect us, how could you be so naïve?"

"Mom! You need to understand! I was about to tell you when you got back from the phone. I was waiting for the perfect moment to tell you. I wasn't sure if you were going to take it well or not!"

"Why wouldn't I take it well?!?"

"Well, let's think. Why are you upset about now?"

"I'm not upset." Emily said, clearly furious.

"She's staying with us."

"I know!"

"She's going to school in Stars Hollow."

Emily thought for a moment, took a breath, and exhaled angrily. "That is not exceptable. There are better teaching establishments in Hartford. There are educated, well known teachers in these schools. It would be better for Ali if she went to school in Hartford. She could get a better education, and be able to associate with children her own age. How could you let her do this? She doesn't know what she's getting herself into! She doesn't know what is best for her, and neither do you!"

"Into the lion's den she went…" Lorelai muttered to herself. "Mom, Ali chose this herself. She wanted to stay with us. I had nothing to say in the matter. Stop accusing me of causing all your problems. Not everything is my fault!" Lorelai shakily rushed back into the dining room to find Rory and Richard staring at her. "We're leaving. Thanks for dinner, Dad. Let's go, Rory."

"Mom…" Rory said weakly, knowing she had no say over the matter.

"Rory." Lorelai insisted forcefully.

Rory sent a sorrowful glance at her grandfather. "Bye, Grandpa." They walked to the foyer, grabbed their coats and got into the jeep. Rory turned to her mother.

"So, no winking?"

Lorelai smiled sadly. "No winking."

The ride to Stars Hollow passed in complete silence. It consisted of Rory staring out the window and sending frequent glances at her mother while Lorelai stared at the road and ignored her daughter's stares. They drove into Stars Hollow and Lorelai parked the jeep across the street from Luke's. They both stepped out of the car.

"Hey, mom, I think I left some of my science notes at Lane's. I'll meet you in Luke's. Are you gonna be ok?"

Lorelai faked a smile. "Yeah. It's fine. Go get your notes." Rory ran off to Lane's and Lorelai walked into Luke's diner, which was practically empty, except for Kirk.

"Kirk, you've been here for five hours. Go home!" Luke yelled. Lorelai sat down at an empty table near the window.

"I can't go home. Mother's holding bingo night. She kicked me out."

"Kirk, if you don't leave right now, I'm going to throw you into the street in front of a moving vehicle."

"Fine, fine." He said timidly, throwing a twenty on the table and running outside.

Lorelai looked at Luke. "Can I be the one driving the vehicle?"

Luke walked over to Lorelai. "Be my guest. What'll you have?"

"Coffee. Times two. Rory's coming. Extra strong for me."

Luke nodded, the squinted down at Lorelai. "Hey, you okay? You seem a little out of it."

"Friday night dinner. I told my parents about Ali."

"Sorry."

"It's okay."

"Did they take it well?"

"Not exactly." Boy, was that an understatement.

"Hey, speaking of Ali, I'm sorry about before. The things I said, I was just annoyed with Jess. He's got that tough guy attitude and he doesn't give a crap about what I say. It just made me _lose it_."

"Luke, it's okay. I know you didn't mean it."

"We're good?"

"Yeah, we're good."

He grinned. "Coffee will be out in a minute." He walked behind the counter and poured two cups of coffee.

Rory walked in and sat down. She looked at her mom, who was truly smiling, then glanced up at Luke. "Hey."

Lorelai looked at her. "Yeah?"

"Everything good with you and Luke?"

"Yeah. Everything's great." Just then, Lorelai's cell phone began to ring. Luke brought over the coffee and pointed to the 'NO CELL PHONES' sign. "I'm going outside." She announced, opening the door. Once she was outside, she answered the phone. "Hello?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

"Who is this?"

"It's the Tooth Fairy. Who do you think it is?"

"Hey, Jenny."

"Thanks for remembering."

"Sorry, the reception was bad."

"Sure."

"Hey, you are my sister. I should respect that."

"Yes, you should."

"Okay, you're in serious mode. Talk."

"I'm so sorry."

"About what?"

"I called in the middle of your dinner and told Emily about Ali."

"Jen, it's okay. I patched it up. Emily's going to be very cold toward me for the next few dinners, but I'll thaw."

"I thought she would have known by now. I didn't realize you hadn't told her."

"Jenny, chill. Mom and I get into fights all the time. It'll blow over."

"I'm horrible."

"No you're not. You're not the one who got into the fight with her at dinner."

"You're upset."

Lorelai was caught off guard. "What? No, I'm fine."

"You're worried."

"What, you can see my expression? Do you have government satellites zoned in on me? I think they might need 'em back. Ya know, to protect the earth from meteors and aliens."

"Lor, you are my sister. I know you better than anyone, with the exception of Rory and Christopher. I also know that you cheated on the math quiz in '83"

"So, it was you who stole my diary!"

Jenny laughed. "So did Chris."

"Yes, but he asked first, so it wasn't actually stealing. He was also the one I cheated from. Did you call for any other reason than to bow down to me?"

"I wanted to say thanks."

"For what?"

"For agreeing to take Ali in like this. It's completely last minute and I want to thank you. It means so much to her."

"Jen, I couldn't say no. She's my only niece. I barely get to see her or you for that matter. Are you gonna hang out in the Hollow for a while? Emily said that you asked to stay over for a night."

"Graham and I are catching a flight to California from the Hartford airport at 11:00 on Sunday. I guess we could stay with you guys for a while. Make sure Ali is settled and all."

"Great! It's a plan."

"So, how's Rory? Is she on board with this?"

"Jen, I think she's more enthusiastic about it than I am. She loves seeing Ali, but she almost never does. I think the last time we saw her was at Rory's fourteenth birthday."

"Wow. Has it really been that long?"

"Yep."

"We are horrible for staying away from each other for this long. We should punish ourselves."

"You're grounded, Jennifer." Lorelai said, trying to sound like Emily.

"As are you, Lorelai."

"I'll see you in three weeks."

"See you then. Lor?"

"Yeah?"

"She's really excited."

"We are too." She said quietly. "Bye, Jen." Lorelai closed her phone and walked back inside. She found Luke refusing to give Rory another cup of coffee.

"Luke, give me the coffee!"

"Rory, it's your third cup in 10 minutes."

"C'mon!"

"No."

Lorelai sat down. "Luke." She said warningly. "Give her the coffee."

He sighed and poured them coffee. No one wanted to argue with Lorelai Gilmore. "You want pie?"

"Apple. And cherry."

"Blueberry, too." Rory added.

"Oh, and chocolate cream!"

"Your eating habits are astonishing." Luke muttered going to get the pie. Lorelai smiled.

Rory looked at Lorelai. She smiled. "Hey mom?" She said.

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad you're happy."

"So am I, kid. So am I."


End file.
